International Recalls: Toyota, Honda, BMW...

. This is a discussion on International Recalls: Toyota, Honda, BMW... within Global Auto Sector. Part of The Auto Talk category; The recall mania is still not over yet. Toyota Motors has recalled over 11,000 Models of Lexus cars among which ...

The recall mania is still not over yet. Toyota Motors has recalled over 11,000 Models of Lexus cars among which 3,800 are from US itself.

According to the company’s official statement it would conduct a "voluntary" safety recall on Lexus LS 460 and LS 600h L vehicles in the U.S. equipped with Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS). Toyota said that it will address a temporary steering wheel off-centre condition that may develop under a specific driving manoeuvre like when the vehicle is quickly driving away from a very tight turn and the steering wheel is in full lock position. The fix requires a software update of the steering system.

"After Toyota was criticised for its delays in announcing recalls, it has changed its procedure so that it can act more swiftly in dealing with customer complaints," said Mamoru Kato, auto analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities. (Info: Cartradeindia)

WASHINGTON: Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation has been issued a subpoena by a federal Grand Jury in New York, bringing the company back into the spotlight for possible steering defects and its handling of a 2005 recall.

Media reports quoted the filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, in which Toyota was reported to have said that the subpoena was received by its subsidiaries in the United States on June 29, and “had demanded documents about steering relay rod defects in the company's cars.”

The automobiles giant has already been served with two subpoenas during 2010, with one related to sudden acceleration and braking, and another from the Michigan attorney general in March for information on recalls, reports said.

In a response sent to The Hindu Toyota said, “On June 29... a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York issued a subpoena requesting certain subsidiaries of Toyota Motor Corporation (“TMC”) to produce certain documents related to defective, broken and/or fractured steering relay rods of Toyota-produced vehicles. TMC and its subsidiaries intend to cooperate with the investigation, and are currently preparing their response thereto.”

In the response the company further said, “Toyota intends to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's office with regard to the subpoena and its requests... The issuance of a subpoena is only an indication that the DOJ has initiated an investigation. It does not mean that the government has concluded that Toyota has violated the law.”

In March, Toyota came under scrutiny after incidents involving possible system malfunction, where the accelerator of a Prius hybrid hatchback jammed on an interstate highway in California causing it to race out of control at 94 miles an hour.

While the 2008 Prius model was covered by a November 2009 voluntary recall by Toyota, to address the risk that out-of-position floor mats could jam accelerator pedals, there were other incidents of unintended acceleration at the time, such as one involving a 2005 Toyota Prius in a New York City suburb.

Toyota's legal woes mounted rapidly from that point as car owners claimed that the safety recalls caused the value of their vehicles to plummet and filed numerous class-action lawsuits, amounting to $3 billion or more, across the U.S.

In April, Toyota was ordered to pay a $16.4 million fine for delaying a January recall over accelerator pedals that did not spring back as designed, reports said. To date Toyota has recalled close to 8.5 million vehicles, of which over six million were in the U.S. Toyota President Akio Toyoda in February repeatedly apologised during an appearance before the U.S. Congress, saying that great strides were being taken by his company to put ‘safety first'.

The fuel tank sensors in the particular models wedge itself against the tank in certain cases, thus giving an inaccurate fuel level reading which may indicate that you have more fuel than what your car actually has. This may either result into an accident or being stranded in the middle of nowhere either of which is not desirable.
According to the NHTSA website, BMW has not yet found an apt solution for the issue. However, as soon as the firm finds the solution, customers can drive to their nearest BMW dealer to get their sensors fixed for free.
As the NHTSA website has announced that the problem has existed in so many vehicles, that there is a fair chance that the 5 Series/5GT models sold in India may face the same fuel sensor problem. However, BMW hasn’t officially confirmed the recall in India. If the problem does exist, expect BMW India to contact the respective owners for necessary repairs/replacements.

And you thought that recall mania was over, or it was only limited to Toyota, Hondas or Mercs? Just re-think because Ferrari has just joined-in as well. Italian car maker is recalling 458 Italia due to an adhesive used to attach a heat shield under the rear fender which can ignite under high temperatures, resulting to catch fire under the hood.